Egypt Gas Market Liberalization: Set For Take-Off?

Cairo in 2017 passed a law enabling the liberalization of Egypt’s gas transmission and distribution grid. Private firms would, for a fee, be able to make use of infrastructure that will remain under the ownership of state firm Gasco. With 18 firms recently awarded licenses, and supposedly-imminent gas imports from Israel resting on the new framework, MEES examines the state of play.

Egypt on 1 August 2017 passed legislation to enable use of the country’s 7,600km main gas grid by private sector operators. Long-mooted liberalization plans gained traction in 2014-15 as slumping domestic output made Egypt a sizable importer of LNG. Forecasts at the time were that import volumes would keep rising; the thinking was that giving some competition to state firm EGAS and its transmission arm Gasco would lead to lower prices.

One of the first firms to look to take advantage of the nascent plans was Egyptian private sector firm Dolphinus Holdings which in October 2014 signed a letter of intent (LoI) to import gas from Israel’s Tamar field, operated by US firm Noble Energy with Israel’s Delek (MEES, 24 October 2014). (CONTINUED - 1469 WORDS)